Auditions

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin

Director: John Maio
Musical / Vocal Director: Pat King
Choreographer: Katie Kimball

Auditions will be held Saturday, Jul 24th at 10am
& Sunday Jul 25th at 7pm

Please be prompt, No appointment needed. Callbacks (if necessary) will be held Sunday, Aug 1st at 7pm. All roles open. Non-AEA. No pay. Prepare a stylistically appropriate Broadway song (up-tempo or ballad); bring sheet music in correct key; accompanist provided; bring your conflict calendar. Be prepared to dance. This is a multi-ethnic show. Actors of all races are encouraged. Rehearsals begin Sep 7th, Production dates Thurs – Sundays Nov 5th thru Dec 18th, for additional information please contact the director JohnJMaio@gmail.com.


Production Information

Rehearsals begin: Sep 7th 2010. Rehearsals are generally scheduled Monday – Thursday evenings from 7pm – 10pm with some dance rehearsals scheduled on Saturdays.

This schedule will change due to cast conflicts. Please bring your conflict calendar with you to the auditions. Conflicts communicated prior to casting will not necessarily eliminate you from being cast, however conflicts communicated after casting will be frowned upon and will most likely require you to be recast. Best rule of thumb - be honest about your conflicts!

Performance Dates: Thurs – Sundays Nov. 5th – Dec 18th

Character Descriptions / Vocal Ranges

Total Cast of 9
4 Women and 5 Men

The Spellers:

Chip Tolentino (Male C3 - B4 Tenor): Champion of the 24th annual Spelling Bee, he returns to defend his title, but he finds puberty hitting at the most inopportune moments. Also the first to be eliminated.

William Barfée (Lead Male plays 8 – 14; Eb3 - Bb4 Tenor): A Finalist last year, but eliminated because of health reasons (someone put peanuts in the brownies). His famous “Magic Foot” method of spelling had boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril, a touchy personality, a severe peanut allergy, and the mistaken belief that he looks good in shorts (not to mention an easily-mispronounced last name. It’s Bar-Fay).

Olive Ostrovsky (Lead Female plays 8 – 14; B3 - F#5 Soprano): The pretty young newcomer to the spelling world. Her mother is in an ashram in India and her father is working late, as usual, but he’s trying to make it. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, and here she is.

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Lead Female plays 8 – 12; C4 - D5 Soprano): Logainne is the youngest and most politically aware speller, with two stage dads who would make Mamma Rose blush. Perhaps the most rabid competitor of the bunch.

Leaf Coneybear (Lead Male plays 8 – 14; A2 - G4 Baritenor): The Second runner-up in his district (the winner and first runner-up had to go to a Bat Mitzvah), Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He’s not really that smart, but his heart is in the right place and he has a unique talent for pulling obscure words out of the air. All of the children in his family are named after plants, and all of his words are South-American Rodents.

Marcy Park (Lead Female plays 8 – 14; B3 - E5 Soprano/Mezzo-soprano): A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed 9th in last year’s nationals. She speaks six Languages, is a member of all-American Hockey, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning.

Four spellers from the audience (audience participation)

The Adults:

Rona Lisa Peretti (Lead Female plays 30 – 50; C#4 - Ab5 Soprano): The #1 realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champ (at the 3rd annual Bee) and returning moderator. Sweet but stern.

Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Supporting Male plays 30 – 50; Tenor): After five years' absence from the Bee, Veep Panche is back as word pronouncer and judge. The “incident” of the 20th annual Bee is almost totally forgotten, and he’s in a much better place now, thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis.

Mitch Mahoney (Supporting Male plays 20 – 50; E3 - A4 B4Tenor): The Official Comfort Counselor. Mitch is serving his community service with the Bee, and he might find he has a knack for hugs and handing out juice boxes.

The Parents and Others:

Carl Schwartz: One of Schwartzy’s dads, he’s set on his heart on his little girl winning the bee, no matter what he has to do. Tries to sabotage William’s foot. Played by Leaf.

Dan Grubenierre: One of Schwartzy’s dads, he’s slightly less insane than Carl (but still intent on getting his baby the gold). Played by Mitch.

Leaf’s Mom: Overprotective and doubtful of her son’s abilities to stand up to the competition. Played by Logainne.

Leaf’s siblings, Marigold, Brooke, Pinecone, Landscape, Raisin, and Paul: Not very confident of Leaf’s abilities. Played by Olive, Marcy, Chip and the volunteer spellers.

Olive’s Mom and Dad: She’s in India, he’s working late, but they appear in Olive’s imagination to encourage her and tell her they love her. Played by Miss Peretti and Mitch.

Jesus: Appears to Marcy in a moment of crisis. Played by Chip.

Important Information About Casting: All of the "kids" are played by adult actors. Finn's music is challenging and requires trained musical theatre singers. We will be looking for actors who, with their acting, can represent youthful personas. Some roles are intentionally doubled (as written by the playwright). Those were the processes used in the original Broadway production and will be used in this production.

For additional information, please contact the director at JohnJMaio@gmail.com or (510) 755-1421

Synopsis

Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a hilarious musical tale of overachievers' angst, chronicling the experience of six adolescent misfits fiercely vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of misfits for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time. Their passion is words, and they find empowerment and identity through the bee.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy with music by William Finn centering around a fictional spelling bee in a geographically ambiguous "Putnam County". It was workshopped and developed at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires prior to its off-Broadway run at the Second Stage Theater before transferring to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. It was directed by James Lapine.

One unusual aspect of the show is that real audience members are invited to compete in the spelling bee alongside the performers. Each performance, four audience members compete against six actors. During the 2005 Tony Awards, former Presidential candidate Al Sharpton had a cameo as one of the competitors.

The musical was based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm, a New York based improvisational comedy troupe. Sarah Saltzberg, Wendy Wasserstein's nanny, was in the original production, and Wasserstein recommended that Finn see the show.

Awards

Earned six Tony Award nominations, and won two:

Best Original Score (William Finn)
Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin) WINNER
Best Direction of a Musical (James Lapine)
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler) WINNER
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Celia Keenan-Bolger)
Best Musical

Generalities

Auditions for our productions are usually scheduled in opening week of the previous production. We schedule two audition days for every show to make it easier for people who may be performing in other productions. No appointment is necessary to audition: Just show up at the appointed time.

For the five Masquers productions each season, auditions are open to everyone. Actors who have not worked at the Masquers are especially welcome. We very seldom precast, but if we do, we will always pre-announce any precast roles.

The special galas and the Envision series are often precast, and roles are generally open to Masquers members, or by invitation only.

Unfortunately, we have no funds available to pay actors for their work. We are a non profit, community theatre, so we must rely on volunteers.

If you are cast, you are expected to commit to the entire run. Schedule conflicts during rehearsal, however, can almost always be worked out with the Director, as long as you let him or her know.

As the time approaches, information will be made available regarding what will be required for the upcoming auditions. Typically, it’s something like this: A prepared monologue and/or readings from the script for "straight" shows; for musicals, prepare a song in your key and bring the music for our accompanist. If the show involves dance, you will be shown a simple dance sequence to learn and execute.

A headshot and resume are certainly not necessary, but bring them if you have them. We will take a snapshot of you and have you fill out an audition form.

Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00, with some Sunday matinees and Thursday night benefits.

Auditions are held at the theatre. The address of the theatre is

105 Park Place
Point Richmond, CA 94801